What is wellness to you? When I think of my own wellness I cannot separate myself from the land and the place I come from, from the water and the stories it gives, and from feeling good beginning with taking care of and grounding my body. When my body is well, my mind and spirit are too. In Wopanaak, cheepayahkumuqut- hell, is not a fiery pit but an empty skull or losing your mind.
The video shows a triptych of 4’x7’ silk paintings and recorded soundscapes around Aquinnah, MA, with collected writing and recordings from conversations with Wampanoag tribal members of what water means to them. The three panels depict Moshup sitting on the Aquinnah cliffs next to the ocean smoking his pipe with three whales swimming in the water below him. According to legend, Moshup was a giant who was the protector and provider of the Wampanoag people. He was so big that he would pick up whales from the water to feed the people and kill them by slamming them against the cliffs. They say that is how the cliffs got their colors. He left the people to fend for themselves when colonists came to the island and gave the tribe a choice to become whales or remain human and fend for themselves. In Aquinnah, we say when the fog rolls over, that’s Moshup smoking his pipe. According to legend someday, he will return.